Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

The night was as dark as ink, swallowing the entire courtyard into thick darkness.

Only a single lamp remained lit in Xie Jingchen's room, its dim light filtering through the carved window and casting blurry shadows on the bluestone slabs in the courtyard.

When Jiang Zhen pushed open the door, Xie Jingchen was sitting by the window reading a book.

He glanced out the window every now and then, thinking that it was almost time.

The candlelight cast a clear contrast of light and shadow on half of his face, but his eyes appeared deeper and more profound than usual.

"Your Highness."

Jiang Zhen knelt on one knee, his voice low, but he couldn't hide his urgency.

"I have already found out what is going on in the palace."

Xie Jingchen didn't look up, but simply turned a page of his book and uttered a single word: "Speak."

Jiang Zhen straightened up and reported the information he had gathered that night, word by word.

"King Cheng returned to the palace."

When the emperor learned of what had happened to Prince Cheng in Ping'an County, he was furious.

It is said that teacups were broken all over the floor in the imperial study, and the eunuchs knelt all over the room.

The emperor pointed at Prince Cheng's nose and berated him, hurling insults like "useless" and "idiot."

He disregarded the fact that this was his own son, and even less of the dignity of the imperial concubine.

After the reprimand, the emperor issued an imperial decree.

"Oh, my father's wrath is expected. What is his decree?"

Xie Jingchen tapped the table absently, with an expression that said, "I knew it."

"Your Highness, Prince Cheng was directly expelled from the side courtyard of the East Palace."

He was ordered to move to the newly renovated Prince Cheng's residence outside the palace, where he could recuperate and was no longer required to attend court; he was not to leave without an imperial edict.

"Oh, is it just a stay-at-home order?"

This punishment is far too lenient!

"Is Father still unwilling to punish him severely?"

"More than that!"

Your Highness, there's more!

King Cheng's military power was confiscated, and he was fined one year's salary.

"Oh, he can't leave without an imperial edict, and his military power has been taken away. That's in line with Father Emperor's approach."

After all, Father Emperor can't afford to lose face like this.

"The emperor still sent the head of the Imperial Medical Academy to treat Xie Jingxing's broken leg."

They also bestowed some tonics upon him.

Jiang Zhen continued.

"tonic?

What kind of tonic can cure a lame leg?

What kind of supplement can make an ear grow back?

The Emperor was only putting on a show for the Consort's family.

After all, the imperial concubine's family were generals who held considerable military power.

"I still have to keep acting."

The emperor only wanted to make a gesture, to show the world that he was not the kind of cold-blooded father who mistreated his own flesh and blood.

That's it.

"Then the Imperial Concubine didn't cause any trouble?"

This isn't like her at all!

"It's a mess, but this time the King of Cheng is guilty of disobeying orders and sneaking out of the palace."

Even the emperor couldn't silence the dissenting voices of half his ministers.

There was also the impeachment by Minister Liu, the father of Consort De, Consort Gui's mortal enemy.

Therefore, the emperor could only confine the imperial concubine to her quarters for three months and deduct half a year's salary as punishment.

After Jiang Zhen finished speaking, he looked up at Xie Jingchen's reaction.

The candlelight flickered.

Xie Jingchen took a sip of tea, and a smile slowly appeared on his lips.

The smile was faint, like a frost-covered blade on a winter night, cold and devoid of warmth.

"Father is planning to abandon Prince Cheng as a pawn."

Xie Jingchen's voice was neither hurried nor slow, neither hot nor cold.

Jiang Zhen was silent for a moment before replying, "Indeed, the Great Zhou Dynasty has never had a disabled crown prince."

With his leg crippled and one ear missing, King Cheng's path to becoming crown prince was also ruined.

"He was never the most suitable candidate in Father's eyes."

Xie Jingchen stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and looked at the thick, impenetrable night outside.

"Father used him before only because he was useful and obedient."

In addition, there was the support of the Imperial Concubine's maternal family.

Now that he's a useless person, he should naturally be discarded.

Royal affairs have always been this simple.

He spoke these words in a calm tone, as if he were telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

Jiang Zhen knew that his master must be suffering a lot!

He was once a discarded pawn, but this time he can come back to life.

After a moment of silence, Xie Jingchen turned around and his gaze fell on Jiang Zhen's face.

"Have those two men Father sent dealt with properly?"

Jiang Zhen knew what he was asking, and immediately nodded, his tone reassuring: "Don't worry, Master, it's been taken care of."

Not a single mouth that should be silenced was left, and not a single trace that should be destroyed was left behind.

Even if the emperor sent people to investigate, they wouldn't find any clues pointing to us.

"Very good." Xie Jingchen nodded slightly. "What about Father Emperor?"

Did he have any doubts...?

"The emperor suspects it was done by people from the Seven Killings Pavilion."

As Jiang Zhen said this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

He felt very frustrated, but there was nothing he could do.

The Seven Kill Pavilion members are desperate criminals who do things for money; they would never reveal the buyer's information!

The old emperor had no choice but to swallow his anger when his son was crippled.

Xie Jingchen chuckled softly.

Seven Killings Pavilion.

As expected, the first people the Emperor thought of were them.

This is not surprising. In the martial arts world, there are very few people who have the ability to kill and silence witnesses without being detected.

But what if we have doubts?

The old emperor dared not provoke the people of the Seven Killings Pavilion.

"I understand. Let's leave it at that."

Xie Jingchen sat back down in his chair, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said, "You can now send a message to the old emperor by carrier pigeon, tell him that I am still alive, and put his mind at ease."

Tell him again that I will be heading north as scheduled soon.

Jiang Zhen, you don't need to hide outside anymore. Now stay by my side and come north with me.

Jiang Zhen felt a surge of warmth in his heart and immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Your subordinate obeys."

But is it just the two of us?

Didn't you say you had help?

Xie Jingchen looked at Jiang Zhen and suddenly said something that made Jiang Zhen freeze.

"The young general of the Xiao family is still alive."

For a moment, Jiang Zhen thought he had misheard.

He suddenly looked up, staring wide-eyed at Xie Jingchen. His expression shifted from shock to disbelief, and then from disbelief to an almost overflowing ecstasy.

"Is Your Highness referring to that person from the Xiao family?"

Jiang Zhen's voice trembled, "That person... is still alive?"

Xie Jingchen did not answer, but simply nodded slightly.

But that look said it all.

Jiang Zhen took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

My heart was pounding in my chest; the news was too shocking.

Even though he had seen many storms over the years following Xie Jingchen, he could hardly contain himself at this moment.

The young general of the Xiao family is still alive.

That young general who once led the Xiao family army to sweep across the northern border and strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, the one whom the whole world thought was dead, is actually still alive.

Although the Xiao family army suffered heavy losses back then, some remaining soldiers still survived.

They are scattered in various places, living in anonymity.

As long as General Xiao intervenes, these people will regroup...

Thinking about this, he became even more excited.

The Xiao family army is loyal and devoted, with every soldier being an elite force that has crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

If such elite troops were gathered together, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

It could even be said that it was a sharp blade capable of changing the world's格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall situation or landscape).

Jiang Zhen finally understood completely.

Previously, His Highness had refused the old emperor's helper, but now he suddenly realized that the helper his master was referring to was actually the young general from the Xiao family.

"Your subordinate was previously dull-witted and failed to understand your profound meaning."

Jiang Zhen cupped his hands in greeting.

Xie Jingchen shook his head: "You don't know about this because I didn't want you to know."

The more people who know, the greater the danger.

That wasn't the time to tell you.

Jiang Zhen understood this perfectly.

If people knew that the young general from the Xiao family was still alive, the old emperor would probably be restless and unable to eat or sleep.

"I'll take you to see him tomorrow."

It's getting late; it's time to go to sleep.

Xie Jingchen stood up and patted Jiang Zhen on the shoulder.

Jiang Zhen barely slept that night.